The 47th Annual Hunger Games
by Hufflepuff64
Summary: Chase Wheeler faces the same terrors as Skye Locksmith did as another District 6 tribute battles his way through the Games. Chase battles Careers, discovers shocking things about the Arena he's in, forges allies, and destroys them. Rated T for action violence.
1. Chapter 1: Despite the Odds

Sitting against the metal wall I reminded Harry again why I had done this. "You guys needed it and I delivered it. Now I have to deal with the consequences. The reason I allowed my name to be in that bowl 28 times is you, Harry. You, and dad, and mom, and of course Liz," I said proudly. "Hey, there's still a solid chance you won't get picked," Harry replied weakly. I snorted. "I guess," was my answer. Although he wasn't the bravest of the bunch, Harry did always have a positive outlook. I was 2 years older than my younger brother Harry, me being 17 and him being 15. Our little sister, Liz, who was 11, was deathly ill and I had volunteered to put my name in 27 more times than usual to provide extra food and supplies to my family and Liz. My dad used to work at a wheel factory here in District 6, but the factory had been closed down by the Capitol for unknown reasons. Father had failed to find employment since. My mother was basically a full-time caretaker for my sister and Harry and I did whatever little jobs we could to help out. This was the last year before I could start to work at a department for money. "Chase...maybe you should go talk to that mentor guy in Victor Village," Harry suggested. "You mean Skye Locksmith? The legend of the 32nd Games?" I said nervously. "You are so certain you will be reaped so why not get a head start?" Harry chirped. I shrugged, stood, and started walking.

Harry was right behind me, for which I was grateful because I was scared of Skye. Who knows how unstable the Games left him? We arrived in Victor Village, a lonely area in District 6 that housed only three Victors. Skye, 19th Games winner Tammy, and some other lady Victor I can't remember. I lead Harry toward the large house I knew to be Skye's. Timidly, I knocked on the door. After a few moments, the door swung open powerfully. The 32 year old man before us looked haggard and beat up. "Who are you?" he muttered, not looking us in the eye. "I'm Chase Wheeler, and this is my brother Harry," I indicated slowly, "I'm here to talk about the Reaping tomorrow." Skye sighed. "What about it?" he asked. I shifted uncomfortably and spluttered, "I think I might get picked since I'm in that bowl 28 times." Skye frowned deeply and replied, "Come in." As the three of use scuffled inside, I could tell there was way too much room in this house for just Skye's family of 5. His wife Sydney was apparently out for a walk with their three kids. "Here, you can have some of that if you want," Skye said, gesturing toward the table. There were 5 and a half waffles sitting cold on a plate. They didn't look too appealing but Harry and I knew better than to turn down food. We dug in as Skye started talking, "Look, Chance, since you haven't been reaped yet, I can't officially mentor you but I'll give you some tips if you want them." Mouth full, I nodded and said, "My name's Chase by the way. Not Chance." Skye shrugged me off and then continued, "If you are reaped tomorrow, and listen carefully, don't panic. If you want the Capitol to like you, play the game. Walking to that stage is a major moment. Make it count." I nodded again, putting pieces together. "Now get out of my house before my wife finds out you ate our food!" Skye said. I got up, and Harry and I hurried outside.

"I don't think you need to worry too much dude, the odds are that you won't get picked," Harry again encouraged. "Yeah, but I ought to be ready," I responded. Harry shrugged. We made it back to the house and creaked open the door. We were greeted by the usual coughing fit coming from Liz's room. Dad was out looking for a job and mom was nowhere to be seen, so Harry and I grabbed our stash of money and headed to the market. "Heyyy, if it isn't Mr. I'll-Save-The-Sick-Little-Girl-All-By-Myself!" Leroy, the merchant, declared as Harry and I approached his station. "Shut up," I snapped, poking through Leroy's goods. "He doesn't have anything worth our time," Harry whispered to me. "What was that little chump?" Leroy barked. I nudged Harry and we hurriedly walked away. As we were passing another station, the old man behind it waved at me to come over. I approached and he said, "You're the kid that's in the Reaping 28 times right? With the sick sister?" I nodded solemnly. "Well come back tomorrow before the Reaping, I will have something for you," the old man answered mysteriously. I shrugged and replied, "I hope you're not messing with me." Harry and I poked around the market a while more then went home, bearing a watermelon and a sack of 6 apples.

The next morning I woke up in a dreadful mood. This could potentially be one of the worst days of my life. When I entered the main room Harry was already dressed and waiting. He gave me a feeble smile and I sat across from him. Finally, my dad strode in, followed by my mother. I walked into Liz's room, leaned down and gave her the last kiss on the cheek I would give her for a long time. At that we left Liz on our way to the Reaping. Harry and I waited in a long line until we got our fingers pricked and were sent respectively to the 15-16 and 17-18 years old sections. Our District representative, Conley Meek, then started his spiel about the Great War and why the Hunger Games are so amazing. I nearly threw up. First, Conley strutted over to the female bowl and fished around in there awhile. Then, his hand emerged, holding a single slip of white. "Amelia Cycle!" Conley Meek announced. A shy looking girl with blonde hair, and bright blue eyes scuffled forward and onto the stage. She was expressionless. At least she wasn't crying. Then, Conley walked to the other bowl full of white paper.

I held my breath, and crossed my fingers. It seemed to me like Conley's hand lingered in the bowl for an eternity. Finally, he revealed his choice. Then, he declared, "Chase Wheeler!" I sighed heavily, and willed my body into motion. Remembering back to Skye Locksmith's words of wisdom, I forced my mouth into a smile and nodded to the Peacekeepers as they escorted me to the stage. Then, I shook Conley Meek's hand, something most tributes don't do. "Let's hear it for Amelia Cycle, and Chase Wheeler, the District 6 tributes of the 47th Annual Hunger Games!" Conley Meek yelled. My heart shattered as he said it.

We were then shown to the Justice Building, where we would say our last goodbyes. I entered my room, and plopped down into this old, wooden chair. My thoughts flew a mile a minute as I waded through a mixture of sadness and strategy. The first visitor I had was Harry and my parents. They hugged me, told me to try my best and that they believed in me. I pulled Harry aside and whispered, "If I don't come back, you better pick up the slack." His head gave a nervous jerk. "Don't die," Harry muttered, as a Peacekeeper rudely shoved my family out. I waited silently in the room until finally, the door swung open. It was the old man from the market. "Young man, you did not keep your word. You were supposed to come to me before the Reaping," he spat. I shook my head, saying, "I am sorry." The old man snorted and then flung something at me. I caught it and then looked down. It was a neat little metal bracelet with hearts on it. "That is for your sister. But now, the only way to get it to her is by making it through the Games. Good luck son," the old man concluded, as he left the room before the Peacekeeper made him. My mouth gaped wide open. That old guy just put a lot of weight on my shoulders. I would feel horrible dying with this undelivered gift in my pocket. I had to win this for Liz, and everyone else.


	2. Chapter 2: A Chocolatey Beginning

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" When Amelia and I were escorted to the train, we were met by Skye Locksmith himself, who encouraged us to gorge ourselves on the delicious Capitol food. Amelia seemed like she was doing alright with the recent, tragic news. The three of us sat around a table and, while Amelia and I ate, Skye began talking, "Chase, good job out there that was a fine performance. Now, you must decide, train together or separate?" I looked at Amelia, my mouth full of chocolatey goodness. "Together," she answered quickly. I shrugged. "Alright then, first thing is to come up with a good plan, and put it in motion," Skye stated, grabbing a slice of cake. I started to think. Back at home I used to catch squirrels and rats for fun so I was decent at making traps and snares. "I am okay at traps," I said. "Good. Now find something else you are good at, and add it to your plan. You'll need a weapon," Skye replied. "I don't know..." I said. "I've used a bow before and I'm not bad," Amelia finally chimed in. "So, between you and Chase you have some food and protection," Skye said, clapping his hands. I nodded and Amelia agreed./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The Capitol was huge. All the lights and towering buildings were breathtaking. As our train pulled in, I noticed a crowd of people waiting for us, cheering. Skye came up behind me and nudged me toward the window. "Wave," he said with a smile. I did as instructed, adding some smiles and points. Amelia eventually joined me, waving and smiling. After we made it to the Justice Building we got into the elevator and went up to the sixth floor, where those from District 6 were to live. Once we settled in, we all sat together on the couches to watch the Reapings./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" From District 1, both tributes were volunteers. I assumed them to be Careers. The male was named Iron, a tall, brown-haired, blue-eyed, stone-faced, cord of muscle. The female volunteer was Sapphire. She was short, with long black hair and brown eyes. I think she growled when the Capitol representative announced her and Iron's names./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The other Careers from District 2, both volunteers of course, were Supreme and Vengeance. Pretty scary names if you ask me. Supreme was a six foot three powerhouse of a boy, with red hair and pale skin. Vengeance really did look like she could kill everyone in the crowd and not feel bad about it. She had very short, black hair, and pitch black eyes./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" District 3 was a pair of short skinny kids who cried, named Matthew and Theresa./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Now when District 4's Reaping video began, Skye whispered, "Most of the time District 4's tributes join in the Career pack." I gulped. And, sure enough, both tributes were volunteers. The guy, Marlin, was short, but lean, with a flashy smile, and blonde hair. The girl, Aqua, had dyed blue hair and matching blue eyes. They both looked like they had been trained well./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The two from District 5 were Luke and Jesse, they didn't look like huge threats./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Obviously, we watched a replay of Amelia and I being reaped, which was odd. I looked like such a jerk, smiling like it was an honor to be thrown into a battle to the death./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Then from District 7, the male was Woody, a lanky looking kid. The girl was Timber, she looked pretty agile and maybe even smart./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" District 8's tributes were Oscar and Lilly. I didn't notice anything special really about either of them./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" From District 9, Carter and Evelyn. Carter looked alright, maybe he could fight. Evelyn didn't stick out much to me./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" District 10's tributes both looked like poor kids. They were Paul and Tasha./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The tributes from District 11 were Sal and Shannon. They also didn't look too strong, although Shannon was pretty tall for a girl./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" District 12's tributes were Cameron and Alice, who also looked weak./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" After the Reapings concluded, we discussed and wrote down all of the tributes. Once we had written all the names, we titled another section, "Threats", and wrote the names of Iron, Sapphire, Supreme, Vengeance, Marlin, and Aqua. "We will add more to the threats section during Training Week," Skye mentioned. At that, we started to disperse for sleep. But before I got to my room, Skye pulled me aside. "Hey kid. Listen," he started slowly, "You remind me a lot of myself you know. And if you are truly anything like me I'm sure you're scared out of your wits. But hear me out Chandler, you can win." I nodded then laughed. "My name is Chase," I said with another chuckle. Skye shrugged me off and then ended the conversation by saying, "Find something to win for." Then we both left to go to bed./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The next day was full of getting ready for the Tribute Parade that night. Skye introduced me to my stylist, Jorge. "Good old Jorge fixed me up for my Tribute Parade. I'm sure you'll find his work to be exemplary," he had said. It was quite annoying, really, being poked, prodded, and reshaped by this group of weirdos from the Capitol. At the end of it I guess I looked okay because Skye whistled as I passed him to get in my costume. When I first saw the outfit Amelia and I were supposed to wear I wasn't impressed. Our front side was supposed to look like the top of a jet and the backside looked like the bottom of a jet. The workmanship was alright but we would still look like total dorks. After I was all dressed up, I stepped outside, and Skye approached me. "I don't have much time, but listen up Chad. When I was in the Tribute Parade, I did something that really caught the audience's attention. If you can do something like that, you'll be a hit!" my mentor advised before being escorted out of the "tributes only" zone by a pair of Peacekeepers./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" As I racked my brain for any ideas, I couldn't help but notice the close circle of Careers whispering to one another. At one point, Marlin turned and glanced at me, then whipped back around and began whispering fiercely. I scurried away. Amelia and I boarded our chariot just as the gates opened and District 1's horses trotted forward. Shaking off my nerves, I slowly pulled out my ticket to attention. Earlier, I had swiped a wrapped chocolate bar, which after I held it under my sleeve for a time had melted into a glob of stickiness. As we strolled out, I multi-tasked as I waved to the Capitol, smiled, and extracted the chocolate from its wrapper. Then, losing the smile, I stood up, reared back, and chucked the glob of chocolate over District 5's chariot and toward District 4's. Just as I had hoped, it spiraled downward and plopped onto Marlin's head with a loud splat followed by a screech from Aqua, who tapped Marlin's shoulder furiously and pointed at his head, now layered in brown liquid. I quickly sat down and resumed smiling and waving. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Marlin wipe the larger part of the chocolate off and jump to his feet, searching behind him for the culprit. I smirked, noticing that Marlin had no clue it was me. Then, much to my displeasure, someone behind me, who would later be revealed to me as Woody from District 7, yelled, "It was Chase!" I frowned as Marlin turned and gave me a death stare. Inside I soiled myself./div 


	3. Chapter 3: Scores and Smoke

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Although I received plenty of criticism from Conley, Skye applauded my accuracy. The fallback of my chocolate scandal from the tributes wouldn't affect me until Training Week started the next day. When Amelia and I first arrived, we visited the knot tying station first. I had always been masterful at knots and proved it to Amelia. As Skye had advised, we always steered clear of the Careers. They usually hung around the weak tributes laughing and joking at them. Finally, after three or four boring stations, I dragged Amelia over to the bow and arrow section./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Luckily, the Careers weren't around, so I picked up the the bow, notched an arrow, aimed, and fired. It stuck in the 1 point zone, the second furthest from the center. Then I handed the bow and some arrows over to Amelia. She fired, and the slender arrow slammed into the 5 zone, close to the bullseye. I whistled and took the bow back. My next shot was still a 1, but much closer to the 5. However, Amelia's next shot was a 10, also known as a bullseye. I whistled again. We continued to take turns for a while but she whooped me. Once the Careers were only 2 stations away, we abandoned the bow station./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Throughout training the next few day I thought about my plan when the Games came. I still wasn't sure if I wanted to work, officially, with Amelia. We still hadn't properly addressed the situation. But the more I put my plan together, the less I wanted allies around to screw it up. Skye's "Threats" section had grown since the start of the week and I had to work hard to be ready. Tuesday and Wednesday I shot arrows with Amelia, and practiced sword fighting which is harder than it seems. Thursday I spent tying knots, learning about plants, and making fires. Friday I visited all the stations for a few minutes each. Overall I would say I was decent at shooting, decent at sword fighting, good at plants, great at tying knots, and decent at fire-making. Amelia, I would say, was great at shooting, decent at sword fighting, decent at plants, good at tying knots, and decent at fire-making./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Finally, the time came for Individual Assessment. The GameMakers would judge our abilities and rate us 1-12, 1 being the worst, and 12 the best. All the tributes were gathered into one small room to await our turns to be assessed. First, we heard a voice announce, "Sapphire White, report for Individual Assessment." From there, after about 10 minutes each, people were called in order. District 1, then 2, then 3, and so forth. Then, after Amelia's 10 minutes were up, the voice called, "Chase Wheeler, report for Individual Assessment." Slowly, I stood and sighed, then I walked out the door and into the viewing area./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I placed myself directly in the view of all the GameMakers and proclaimed, "Chase Wheeler, District 6." Then, I ran over, grabbed a large stretch of rope, and began working my magic. After about 5 minutes of quick work, I had produced a huge network of rope that spread from the spear rack, all the way to the plant station, about 15 feet across and 15 feet tall. The GameMakers clapped politely. I then ran to the bow and arrow station, silently praying. My first ten shots went like this; 5, 5, 1, 5, 1, 10, 5, 10, 5, 10. Not a horrible display, but also not my best. Again, the GameMakers clapped politely. Then, I went to the plant station and quickly named all the plants that appeared on the screen correctly. At that, after the polite claps, the head GameMaker yelled, "Thank you." I bowed, then hurried from the room./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" That night, everyone gathered again to watch the scoring. Amelia, Skye, Jorge, Amelia's stylist, Conley, and I all crammed into the two couches and flipped on the tv. After some speculation from Caesar Flickerman, he finally got to the scores. Iron got a 10, Sapphire got a 9, Supreme got a 10, Vengeance got a 10, Marlin got an 8, Aqua got a 9, and I didn't bother remembering most of the other tributes' scores. Then, at last, Caesar said, "And, Chase Wheeler from District 6, with a score of...8!" I jumped into the air, ecstatic. An 8 was a solid score. "Way to go," Skye complimented just as Amelia's score was about to be revealed. She got a 7, which wasn't bad either. All of us went to bed satisfied./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The next day, we prepared for our Interviews that night. Skye explained to me that it would be best to come off as a troublemaker, after my Tribute Parade fiasco. He said the crowd would love me if I said I was a prankster. Amelia was supposed to run with the shy girl thing. Then, Jorge and his team got to work on my outfit. I honestly was fine with this one. The shoes were so gray they were almost black, the pants were a slightly lighter gray, the belt was also slightly lighter, the button-down shirt was a lighter gray than the belt at the lower half, but the higher up the shirt you went, the lighter it got. The tie coordinated perfectly with the shirt, getting lighter at the same pace as the shirt. When I put it on, they asked me to guess what I was supposed to look like. I knew where they were going with this thing immediately. "I'm smoke," I replied with a smirk. They all nodded and laughed. Amelia was wearing a dress with the same color scheme, so we both looked like wisps of smoke. Finally, the time came, and we went backstage to wait for our turns./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I was eleventh in line, so I didn't really bother paying attention to the first few interviews, but when Marlin said my name, I perked up. "I am going to teach that punk a lesson, let me tell you Caesar. I'll see to his death personally, and if someone kills him before I do, I am going to kill that person! Wheeler has no respect for his superiors!" Marlin shouted, with falsified anger. I frowned as everyone in line's eyes turned to me. I swore under my breath. I already had a tough enemy. We both had scored 8s though, so maybe he wasn't that much better than me. Then, before I knew it, "Now, let's hear it for Chase Wheeler from District 6!"/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I hurried onto the stage, repeatedly reminding myself all of Skye's tips as I smiled and waved to the crowd. I took a seat across from Caesar Flickerman. "Hello Chase, how have you been?" he asked. I forced myself to forget about the audience. "I've been doing very well," I answered simply. "What's the best part about the Capitol?" Caesar asked. With a noticeable smirk, I replied, "The chocolate of course." The crowd laughed a little too much and so did Caesar. "Marlin would surely disagree," he added. I nodded, and then said, "And I would surely disagree that he can kill me." The crowd ate that one up. Caesar Flickerman chuckled and then asked, "How do you feel about that 8 of yours?" I grinned and answered, "Almost as good as it would feel to get a 9." More laughter and screams from the Capitol audience. The rest of the interview went something like that until finally, I was released./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" "You both did excellent," Skye started, "Now, tomorrow is the Games," Skye shifted uncomfortably, "So, are you two allies or what?" I looked at Amelia, and I nodded. She nodded back. "Alright then, get stuff and find somewhere to lay low," Skye answered. "Then start executing our plan," Amelia finished. Skye nodded. "Now get some rest. Especially you, Chip," our mentor said. I shook my head. "You still don't know my name," I mumbled as we turned to go to bed./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Laying there in bed, I had no idea what to expect the next day. Running through possible Arenas, I formed a strategy for each terrain. As I was thinking about the hopeless odds of winning, I turned my head toward the beautifully crafted bracelet sitting on my nightstand. "Liz," I found myself whispering. I had to win for Liz, for my family. I would get the bracelet to my sister no matter what./div 


	4. Chapter 4: Underground Base

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" My nose was greeted by the scent of bacon as I slowly forced myself to awaken. Breakfast was already being served as I walked in. I tore through my four pancakes as quick as I could, then ate two eggs and three pieces of toast. Amelia didn't even touch her food. "Listen kids," Skye said, "Don't make rookie mistakes. Trust no one, not even each other. Those that trusted me died in the end." I nodded and Amelia glanced at me sideways./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" We boarded the HoverBoard that would take us to the Arena, and I stuffed Liz's bracelet into my pocket. Once everyone was seated, a Peacekeeper started inserting trackers into everyone's arms. "Arm," he said when he reached me. I stuck out my left arm, which was met by a sharp pain from the Peacekeeper's needle. I bit back a shriek. Most other tributes did release some sort of scream./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" We arrived, and were quickly escorted to our Launch Rooms. Skye was there waiting for me. He handed me a glass of water and my outfit. There was a plain shirt, with a large 6 in the middle, a jacket with a large 6 on the back, heavy black boots, long pants, and a pair of socks. I quickly changed and sat across from Skye. As I sipped the cool liquid, Skye said, "You can do it. I went into my Arena with as much confidence as I could muster. If you can gather enough courage, you can do it." I answered simply, "Thanks." Then, a voice boomed, "30 seconds until launch." I hurried into my tube, nearly forgetting to leave my glass. "20," the voice soon said. "Chase," Skye called, "just keep breathing." I nodded, happy he had finally gotten my name. "10," said the voice. I braced myself, let out a deep exhale, and prepared for the inevitable. Then, my tube shot upward./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I'm blind, was my first thought. But it was just the sudden light that had rendered my eyes useless for a moment. Once my vision adjusted, I could see from my pedestal that the Cornucopia was about 45 feet in front of me. Then I looked around. We were on a prairie. Tall, dry grass sprouted everywhere. The land was flat. I looked to the right. Off in the distance I saw a group of large metal loops in the air. I had no clue what that was. I looked to the left. It looked like there were trees way out there. But this prairie just went on forever. As a voice started counting down from 30, I noticed Amelia four pedestals over. Lilly from 8 was on my right, and Matthew from 3 was on my left. I sighed of relief since I wasn't too close to any Careers. The voice reached 20 and I refocused on the Cornucopia. About 15 feet out from the mouth of it, there lay a backpack and a large roll of netting. That would serve very useful. However, a mere 10 feet away from my pedestal, there was another backpack, but no netting. I had a decision to make. The voice made it to 10 seconds. I made up my mind, and got into a running stance. I quickly reached into my pocket and stroked Liz's bracelet for good luck. The gong sounded, and I leaped from my pedestal in the hardest run of my life./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Luckily, I reached the bag and netting before most people were even close, so I picked up the backpack, slung it over my shoulder, and picked up the netting. Then, I sprinted back the way I came. Just as I neared the pedestals, however, a knife flew past my head, nicking my right ear. I squealed in pain, but kept running. As I passed the fallen knife, I risked leaning over to pick it up. While doing so, I noticed Iron behind me flinging knives at everyone in the area. I had gotten lucky. I picked up the knife, and resumed my sprint out into the prairie./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The occasional glance over my shoulder as I ran, revealed that two other figures were running into the prairie as well. Then, 9 cannon blasts sounded. 9 tributes were already dead in the bloodbath. I had been on the run for about 15 minutes when I noticed a large wooden post up ahead, a little to my left. There seemed to be no reason for it. It was just there, protruding from the ground. I decided to risk taking a look. As I neared the post, I began to see a large hole next to it. Inside the hole was a stone staircase leading downward. I thought it must be some kind of cave or tunnel. Seeing no other immediate shelter around me, I decided to go for it. I slowly began descending the steps into the unknown. The stairs themselves took 3 minutes at a fast pace to get down. Once I made it to the bottom, I looked around and saw two passageways. One going straight ahead and one going right. I chose to go right. But since it was so dark down there, travel was somewhat slow, as I had to constantly squint to make sure I wasn't going to hit anything. Soon enough, I reached another crossroads. Left, straight, or right. I went right again. It seemed to me that the halls were getting darker and darker the deeper I got. There were many different paths to take. I generally stuck to the right, hoping to find somewhere to camp. Finally, after about four hours of walking down stony corridor after stony corridor, I arrived at a large, square room. It had an entrance at the back wall, and an entrance at the left wall. It was big enough that it provided cover, and it was easy enough to defend. It would have been better if there was only one entrance, but I wasn't planning on walking or running anymore that day. So, I went and sat in the corner of the room, and took the large bag off of my shoulder, that now hurt from hauling the bag, and opened it. Inside there was a pack of matches, which would be very useful down here, a small length of rope, a package of crackers, two water bottles that were luckily full, a package of jerky, and a case of what I believed to be poison barbs. I had selected a very good backpack, but it wouldn't last me more than 3 or 4 days./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" As tired as I was at that point, I had to set up my defenses. It would do me no good to have random tributes stumbling upon my room and killing me while I sleep. This is where my net came in. I walked halfway down the left entrance and began setting my first trap. Using Iron's knife, I chiseled a sturdy notch, with raised edges, 7 feet up the stone wall on the right. Then, I chiseled another notch with raised edges just above the ground, parallel to the first notch. After that, I did the same thing to the left wall. I now had four notches parallel to one another. Now, I cut a section of the net out, and tied the four corners of it to the four notches, leaving an outstretched net across the narrow passage. I allowed myself to let out a quiet whoop. After that, I went to the other entrance of my room, and travelled halfway down that corridor. I did the same process to those walls. It was harder than it sounds, trust me. The whole thing took two and a half hours. I was totally pooped. All I had energy left to do was plop down in the total dark and rest. I silently hoped Amelia would fall into my net so that I could show her my base and have some company. This whole labyrinth of halls would put a huge twist in this year's Games. Much of the battle wouldn't even happen above ground. I thought back to the three different terrains I had observed on my pedestal and as I was running. It had seemed to me that on the left there was some sort of jungle and on the right there was some sort of modern facility. I wasn't sure if it was a power plant or a city or what, but it was weird. My hand absently went up to my right ear, the one that Iron had nicked with the knife throw. I felt some dried blood. The wound would heal on its own, and I hadn't lost much blood, but it still hurt. /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Before I knew it, the anthem began playing eerily throughout the catacombs. The noise echoed off the walls in a way that unnerved me. Suddenly, a video screen appeared on the wall across from me. Then the faces of the dead began appearing. First, Matthew's face appeared, the kid from District 3. I recalled looking to my left and seeing him on his pedestal. A shiver ran through my spine. Then Jesse from District 5 appeared on the screen. I didn't remember much of anything about her. As Amelia's smiling face appeared on the screen, I felt tears start to swell up. I hadn't even bothered to help her get away from the Cornucopia and now she was dead. I started to think about all the ways I was the reason she died. Both Oscar and Lilly from 8 had died. I was barely paying enough attention through the streaming tears to see the other casualties. Evelyn from District 9, both Paul and Tasha from 10, and the last face shown that night was Cameron from District 12. All those innocent people were dead now. Despite my grieving, I silently vowed to win for Amelia and all the tributes who were sent here to die./div 


	5. Chapter 5: Mysteries Uncovered

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Even though I was reluctant to sleep, I got a sound 7 hours. During the night I had been awoken once to a cannon shot, which can surprisingly be heard clearly even down in the catacombs. My nets were still clear when I checked in the morning. That's when I had to decide whether to go out exploring the caves, or stay inside my base. I decided to wait out one day in my cave and then leave to explore tomorrow./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" While I sat around and didn't do much, I decided to take the poison barbs out of the case, carefully, and scatter them throughout my nets. This way, I could kill without even using my knife, and without the blood. Also, when someone gets caught in my nets, they end up dying whether I do something or not. I kept a few barbs just in case. Upon inspection, I concluded that there was something weird about my room. I found a small indent in the wall, then I found another a few feet across the wall. It seemed like something might fit in the small holes. I mentally stored that in the back of my mind for when I went out exploring. At what I assumed to be around noon there was another cannon blast. People were still dying rapidly. The rest of the day was uneventful./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" That night, after a small dinner of 2 pieces of jerky and 2 crackers, the anthem played eerily throughout the caves again. And once again, faces appeared on the video screen across from me. There was only two this time. Sal from District 11 and Alice from District 12. I frowned because I had barely known them. There was now only 13 tributes left, including 6 Careers. Those were not very good odds. Despite my troubled thoughts, I slept soundly again./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" That morning I awoke to complete darkness once again. But this time, it wasn't completely quiet. I heard soft groans. They were definitely human, probably female, coming from my right. I slowly, quietly, got on my feet, pulled out Iron's knife, and crept toward the left entrance of the cave, the source of the groans. As I walked silently down the hall, I felt myself trembling. Is it possible that someone fell into my net? As I approached, the noises got louder to my ears. Then, the net came into view, but it wasn't in its usual, tightly stretched, formation. No, it was off of the notches, sprawled on the ground. And beneath it there was a human shape./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Noticing that the tribute's face was turned away from me, I crouched and watched. She occasionally lashed out, trying to free herself. But after her attempts proved useless, she went back to her groaning, sobbing, depressed state. I determined the tribute to be Theresa, from District 3. I had hardly talked to her back during training. From my estimate, there were about 4 of my poison barbs stuck in Theresa. I could see 3 of them, and I assumed there to be one more. During her occasional tantrums, Theresa managed to pull 2 barbs out of her. That's when I started to worry that she would pull herself free. But an hour and a half after I had arrived, Theresa went limp, and a cannon blast sounded./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" A single tear rolled down my cheek. Now, for the messy part. I crept forward, and carefully pulled the net off of Theresa's corpse. I left the 2 remaining barbs in Theresa, but took the 2 she had pulled out, and put them back in the net. Then, I gingerly attached the net to the four notches once again. I picked up Theresa's bag and looked through it. Some more food, which I needed, half a bottle of water, and a flashlight. The flashlight could be very useful. Quickly, I returned to my cave. Then, I gathered all my supplies, ate a tiny breakfast, slung my bag over my shoulder, and returned to my net through the left entrance. I lifted up the bottom of the net, and crawled underneath, mentally reminding myself to check for the net on my way back. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for me to die in my own poisoned net?/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" It was hard to remember every path I took, but it was very important if I wanted to get back to my base. Early on, I had lit a single match for light. It was possible that someone else had set traps like I had, and with my match I would likely be able to see them. Iron's knife sat heavy in my pocket and I hoped I wouldn't have to use it. There were drafts of cool air down there in the catacombs, so it wasn't too hot, therefore I left my jacket on. After walking for what seemed to be an hour, I heard a scream pierce the silence. It bounced off the walls, causing an eerie mood. The scream had sounded too close for comfort, so I redirected my route. Sometime later, I stumbled upon another room somewhat like mine. Immediately, I located the two indents. However, in this room, one of the indents contained a small blue sphere. Carefully, I pulled it from its hole. It felt like it was magnetic. Pocketing the odd blue sphere, I heard another scream. Whoever it was, was getting closer. I turned to go back the way I came. After 5 minutes more of walking, I heard a third scream. It was louder once more. I picked up the pace, keeping my right hand hovering near Iron's knife in my pocket. The fourth scream was followed by a female voice yelling, "You can't get away!" It was just near enough to me to make it out, and it sounded like Aqua's voice. I shivered at the thought and picked up my pace once again. The next time I heard anything, it was the loud sound of footsteps coming from behind me./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Glancing behind my shoulder, I recognized Timber from District 7, sprinting. Behind her, I recognized Aqua herself, blue hair flying, running after her. I launched into a full sprint. I had a good lead on them, and I knew where I was going, but Aqua was slowly gaining on Timber and I. Realizing my mistake, I quickly blew out my match and tossed it aside. Timber was losing speed, Aqua was gaining speed, and I was just trying to stay out of knife's distance. Then, I heard a loud thud, a female scream, someone falling, and then someone laughing. I stopped and whipped around. I should have kept running, but something about those sounds pushed me over the line. Timber was on the ground, her head bleeding profusely. Aqua wasn't looking at me, she was watching Timber as she raised her battle axe to finish her off. I had only learned to throw knives once and only practiced maybe twice. All I could do was hope what I was doing would work as I reared back and threw Iron's knife toward Aqua. She must have heard me, because she lifted her head in time to see what was happening, but not fast enough to block it. The wet, nasty sound of the knife embedding itself in Aqua's chest will haunt me forever. With a gurgled attempt at speech, Aqua collapsed. Timber and Aqua now lay in a pool of blood. The Career's blue hair was now a stained purple. A cannon blast rang out. Timber was still stirring, I could try to help her. But if I knew anything about the Hunger Games, it was that Careers don't travel alone. I hurriedly grabbed Timber's bag and Aqua's battle axe. Then, I looked away as I extracted Iron's knife from Aqua's body. Once I had everything, I took off at a run./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" After scrambling under my poison net, and collapsing on the ground of my room, I decided to check out my new loot. Just as I was opening Timber's backpack, another cannon shot was heard. I assumed it to be Timber's. Inside the bag, there was a little bit more food, which I had needed, another bottle of water, some more matches, which was good since I had gone through 6 that day, and, much to my joy, another blue sphere just like the one I had found. There was also a tarp, which I figured I would eventually find a use for. Once everything was in order, I took out my two blue spheres. One from that room, and one from Timber's backpack. I stuck one into one of the indents. They were definitely magnetic. Then, almost ceremoniously, I inserted the second sphere into the second hole. At that, a vertical crack began shooting upward from both indents. When both cracks reached the top, two vertical crevices shot from the spheres downward. Then, the stone before me vanished./div 


	6. Chapter 6: Tricks and Thievery

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The dark hallway that I had just found in my room didn't go very far. In fact, I only had to walk 5 steps to reach the end of it. But, at the end of that secret passage, was a small metal altar. On the top of the altar, there were the words, "Send To Room 7." My eyebrow raised as I considered what this meant. There had been no room number on my room, so I had no clue which room mine was. The word "send" made me consider something I thought impossible. Could this weird metal altar be some sort of teleportation device? I figured there was only one way to find out./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Once I had found my matches, I pulled one out and returned to the secret passage. Releasing a deep breath, I placed the match on the altar. At first I didn't think anything was going to happen. But then, in a flash of light, the match disappeared. I blinked my eyes rapidly and ran my hand across the flat surface. The match was really gone. I turned to leave, awestruck. But just as I was exiting the passage, there was a flash of light behind me./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" A slip of paper and a small pencil were now on the altar. I picked up the note carefully and read, "Who are you?" I decided to take a chance on this random person. I flipped the note over and wrote with the pencil, "Chase. Who are you?" Then, I dropped the paper onto the altar. After another flash of light, the note disappeared. Then, there was another flash of light a few moments later. A fresh slip of paper was now on the plate. It read, "Luke. Alliance?" I knew that there was only one Luke in this year's Games and he was from District 5. I hadn't talked to him much, but I needed someone to trust. I wrote on the back of this paper, "Yes. Need supplies?" Once I sent that note, the anthem started playing throughout the tunnels. I hadn't realized how late it was. I scarfed down some crackers and sipped my water. Then, there was another flash of light. I ignored the note to watch the faces on the screen. First, appeared Aqua. I frowned. Then, Timber's face appeared. I turned away and picked up the note. "Water," it read. I grabbed a full water bottle from my bag and considered whether I needed it or not. In the end I decided it wouldn't hurt to get this Luke kid on my side so I sent it to him. He sent back a note saying, "Thanks. Want to meet up?" It seemed like a legitimate question at the time so I sent back the note agreeing to meet above ground the next day./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" After a few hours of travel, I made it to the staircase I had first entered the catacombs from. My hand absently went into my pocket, stroking Liz's bracelet. This could be a trap, so I had to be aware at all times. Aqua's heavy battle axe was annoying for me to carry, but I knew it would be an essential weapon. Slowly, I ascended the staircase. At the top, I peered above ground. All I could see was grass, so I raised higher. Then I saw a lone figure standing on their own, about 80 feet away from where I was. I strained my neck until I recognized that the person was indeed, Luke from District 5. Carefully, I brought myself up to the ground and began walking toward Luke. There was no one else in sight. As I neared, Luke turned and saw me. He looked worried for some reason. Once I was 50 feet away from him, he shouted at me suddenly, "IT IS A TRAP! RUN CHASE, IT IS A TRAP!" Just then, I saw a large figure sprout from the ground next to the wooden post nearest to Luke. Then, a second figure popped up from underground. Supreme and Vengeance had been waiting for me./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Listening to Luke's words of wisdom, I took off at a run in the opposite direction. I heard Supreme and Vengeance pursue me. Then I heard Luke shriek. A cannon blast sounded. The Careers had used Luke to get to me. Sparing a glance over my shoulder, I saw Vengeance gaining on me, and Supreme lagging behind. That girl was fast. It seemed as though she would easily overtake me. So this was how it all ends, I thought during that chase. Vengeance was right on my heels. I could hear her heavy breathing, her maniacal laughter. Vengeance suddenly howled in pain and I heard her tumble to the ground. I kept running, but glanced behind me again. There was a single arrow sticking from Vengeance's left arm. "I told you, he is mine to finish!" I heard a familiar voice yell behind me. Marlin. My head whipped over my shoulder again, and I saw Supreme bent over, catching his breath, and Marlin not far behind. Lucky for me, I was getting closer to the end of the prairie and the Careers seemed to be having some sort of dispute amongst themselves. As I neared the weird metal looking place, I recognized one of the structures. It was a roller coaster./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The prairie ended quite abruptly. Actually, it ended in a sharp cliff. Standing at the edge of it, I looked down to see a seemingly never ending sky. It was almost like this prairie was in the sky. I looked around and noticed a bridge to my right. The bridge connected the prairie to the odd place with the roller coasters. I ran to the bridge and carefully crossed it. Turning around, I could no longer see any trace of the Careers. I let out a sigh of relief. I still had all of my supplies, except my two poison nets, which were still set up underground. Upon entering this new area, I noticed that most of the equipment was rusted and cobwebbed, giving the whole place an abandoned outlook. I couldn't hear or see any tributes. Maybe I was the only one here. That seemed like wishful thinking. As I walked deeper into the area, I noticed other rides like something called a "carousel", more roller coasters, popcorn stands, hotdog stands, and even two gift shops. But all of it looked deserted. However, when I decided to check out one of the gift shops, what I found disturbed me. The little knickknacks and things were strewn all over, there was broken glass everywhere, and I found a pool of blood in the back. I made a mental reminder to never come back. Looking for a place to lay low, I decided to make my way to the ride titled "Ferris Wheel." Since there were several cars very high in the air, it would serve as decent shelter./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" As carefully as I possibly could while holding a battle axe and a backpack, I began to climb up the metal infrastructure of the huge ride. Due to my sweat and exhaustion, the metal was slippery and my progress was slow. Night fell just as I reached the top car. Peering inside, I found that it was empty so I sat down inside. Hopefully no one had seen me climbing up there in the last two hours. Just as I was setting up camp, I noticed something that worried me. At the bottom of the Ferris Wheel car, sat a used match. Someone had been here. I shivered at the thought. Throwing the match off the side of the Ferris wheel, I elected to get some shut-eye. A few hours later, I was awoken to the sound of the anthem playing. Then, a screen popped up above the ride car next to mine. Luke from District 5 appeared. span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" It was still hard for me to believe how willingly Luke had saved my life at the expense of his own. Surely, he didn't expect to get away from the Careers after they used him, but still, for him to do that for me really meant something. I would forever be grateful to that lost boy. I bowed my head in respect until Luke's face disappeared. I immediately fell asleep afterwards./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" Clang. Something must have fallen against something metal. I woke up, alarmed by the sudden noise. Then, I stood and looked around. There he was, Carter from District 9, laying face first in one of the Ferris wheel cars, three beneath mine. I heard him mumble, "Ouch." Then I realized with a start that he had my backpack and Aqua's axe! I reached into my pocket, relieved to still have Liz's bracelet and Iron's knife. As Carter pulled himself to his feet, I whipped the knife out and jumped to the next car closer to Carter. I wasn't letting that punk get away with my main weapon and all my supplies. He turned around, saw me, and jumped to the next car closer to the ground. I jumped after him until he hit the ground running toward the bridge connecting to the prairie. I made it to the ground a few moments afterward, and took off after him. Luckily, he had all my heavy equipment so I was catching up. Carter made it to the bridge just as I had cut his lead to a few footsteps. Then he did something I never expected. Carter turned, pulled off the bag, and flung it at me. The heavy backpack full of net, rope, matches, food, and water slammed into my chest, causing me to tumble backward and crash to the hard cement floor of the bridge. I tried to stop it, but I was too late. My bag full of all my stuff rolled away from me and dropped like a stone off of the bridge into that never ending sky./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" Anger boiled up inside me as I jumped to my feet and took off after Carter, who still had Aqua's battle axe. I was definitely faster than him, but he had forged a huge lead on me with that jerk move. We were flying across the prairie when I noticed Carter sliding downward off in the distance. He was going underground./span/div 


	7. Chapter 7: An Unexpected Alliance

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Although I was scared out of my wits to go back down into that death trap, Carter was not getting away with my weapon and throwing away my supplies. If I had my flashlight it would have been easier to follow him down in those tunnels, but someone had recently disposed of it. However, I managed to keep after him. Then, it hit me. By some stroke of luck, we were going down a route I knew. We were going to run straight into my net./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Once we were getting very close, I slowed my run down a bit. Nervous jitters coursed through me. I still wasn't sure if it would work. Then, Carter howled in pain. The horrid noise bounced of the walls strangely. It took only a few seconds for me to catch up. My net was tangled all over Carter. He looked up at me, tears streaming down his cheeks. His arms were pressed against his chest, rendering his stolen weapon useless. "Please," Carter quietly begged. I observed his condition, determining that there were 5 of my poison barbs stuck in him. "You're in bad shape," I muttered. "If you're going to do it, make it quick!" Carter yelled at me furiously. I looked down at my knife and then back at Carter's depressed state. "Give me my axe and any other supplies you have and I'll free you. But those barbs will get you soon if no one helps you," I proposed. Carter's frown deepened and he spat, "Then leave me. I'll die here with your beloved axe." I shrugged and turned on my heels to leave. That's when I heard the distinct beeping noise./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" In the darkness I could only see a small red light slowly approaching my position. When it finally got close enough I recognized the silver parachute and package as a donation from either Carter or my sponsors. The package glided into my palm and I tore it open. Inside was a small box containing 10 little white pills. There was also a note that read, "For the barbs. You need someone on your side Chase. -Skye". Slowly, I turned my head back to Carter. He was giving another futile attempt at getting Aqua's axe free. Releasing a long sigh, I said, "Carter, do you want to work together?" He shook his head violently. "Not unless you find some miracle that will save me!" Carter hissed. I shrugged and walked to him. Then I started untangling my net, careful to avoid the barbs. Surprisingly, Carter didn't say a word. Once I had set the poisonous net aside and pulled the barbs from Carter's skin, he looked up at me, his face now a ghastly pale. At that, I pulled a single pill from the box and tossed it into Carter's hand. After he determined its purpose, he swallowed it quickly. I helped him to his feet and he blubbered, "Thanks Chase."/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Carter helped me reset my net and then I showed him to my base from the beginning of the Games. "Woah," he said, "This is awesome. Why did you ever leave?" I looked down at my shoes and timidly told Carter the story about the teleportation device, how the Careers used Luke to get to me, and then how I had run away and then ran into him. "Well I guess all of us regular tributes are lucky the Careers have been fighting against each other," Carter said with a shrug. "Wait, I thought that was a one time thing," I spluttered. "Nope. They split up a while ago. At first it was Aqua, Marlin, Iron, and Sapphire against Supreme and Vengeance. But after Aqua's death, Iron and Sapphire left Marlin on his own. Ever since, Marlin has been following Supreme and Vengeance around, hoping to stop them," Carter explained nonchalantly. My jaw dropped. "How do you know all that?" I asked. "Well I talked to Woody. That kid hates the Careers. He refuses to fight any regular tributes and constantly spies on the Careers. Recently he teamed up with Marlin to try to destroy the Careers from within. Obviously Marlin isn't fond of the other Careers so he is happy to help," Carter answered. I was learning so much about the dynamic of this game. "Where is that Woody kid?" I inquired. Carter shrugged. "He travels all over the Arena. Most of the time he trails Supreme and Vengeance with Marlin," he said. I nodded. "But what about Iron and Sapphire?" I questioned. Carter shook his head and replied, "No clue."/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" "We need food and water," I stated after that had been cleared up. Carter nodded and stood. "I have a stash. I have been stealing a lot from a whole lot of people," he said with a smirk. I shrugged and answered, "Then let's go." We carefully left my base, leaving the traps set up, and made for the exit of the underground labyrinth. Walking in the silence and darkness gave us nothing to take our minds off of our grumbling stomachs and dry mouths. "Where is it?" I finally hissed after an hour of walking. "Hidden in the amusement park," Carter replied as if this was obvious. "What's an amusement park?" I wondered aloud. "I don't know that's just what it said on the sign," he said. It took us several hours but we eventually found our way out./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Once Carter confirmed that the coast was clear, we rose from the staircase and took off at a steady trot towards the looping roller coasters in the distance. To our backs I could see the glittering Cornucopia and I slightly picked up the pace as I thought of the Careers who likely inhabited it. I silently hoped Carter's stash was enough for the both of us because I had nothing left after the loss of my backpack. Iron's knife remained secure in my pocket along with Liz's bracelet. I had allowed Carter to keep the axe for the time being but I never let it out of my sight. At last, we had arrived at the sky bridge leading into the amusement park./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" "Right there," I said spitefully pointing at a spot on the left side of the bridge where my beloved supplies had fallen from. Carter turned to me with an apologetic expression. "Sorry about that," he said with a nervous chuckle. We hurriedly ran through the creepy park, dodging fallen trash cans and rusted booths. Then, Carter lead me into a small room lined with lockers on both walls. Approaching a large bottom locker in the corner of the room, he squatted down and swung it open. Carter pulled two small backpacks out, along with some other loose items. In the food category he had four packs of crackers, five packs of jerky, a half of a loaf of bread, and even six slices of cheese. Tossing me a piece of his bread, Carter revealed a pair of water bottles from the locker. He handed me one and we ate in relative silence./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I continued to study my newfound partner as we lounged around the locker room. Carter had light brown hair that he had grown down to his shoulders where the ends curled up, giving his shaggy head a more cultured appearance. Carter's eyes were a deep brown and his skin was slightly darker than mine, although we were both white. He was a fairly short kid, no taller than 5 foot 7 I suspected. He had some muscle along his arms but he wasn't very fast. I recalled that he had scored a 7 prior to the Games. While Carter's stash provided enough food for several days, even with two of us, we still only had Aqua's battle axe and Iron's knife for weapons./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Night fell and we listened to the anthem. No one had died. Carter reminded me that there were still 5 Careers left. Then he listed the names of everyone in the Arena. Supreme and Vengeance were still out there, though I had seen Vengeance take an arrow from Marlin so there was no doubt she was somewhat hurt. Then there was Iron and Sapphire, both of whom I hadn't seen since the start of the Games. Marlin and Woody from 7 were apparently still teamed up somewhere out there as well. I was glad the Careers were so divided but also worried that Carter and I wouldn't stand a chance against any of the pairs listed. The only other regular tribute left besides Carter, Woody, and I was Shannon from District 11. Neither of us knew anything about her so we went to sleep, thoughts of how to beat the Careers swimming through our minds./div 


	8. Chapter 8: Career Attack

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I heard a shuffle of footsteps and opened my eyes. Slowly, I turned my head to the source of the noise. My mouth dropped open as I processed the image of two shadowy figures creeping toward Carter. I recognized the two individuals as Iron and Sapphire. My face paled as I noted that both of them bore swords. Well, Sapphire's was more of a sickle, like the ones people use to harvest crops, but both weapons got my adrenaline running. Just as Iron's giant bulk began to loom over Carter, I leaped to my feet, wielding Iron's knife, and screamed, "Bring it on!" I had hoped to distract Iron from his current assassination, but he ignored me and motioned at Sapphire to take me on. With an intimidating growl, the slender girl turned to me and stepped forward. She hefted her wicked, curved sickle and smiled at me maliciously. I glanced over at Carter as he jumped to his feet and swung at Iron with Aqua's battle axe. I just managed to watch Iron parry Carter's blow before my vision was blocked by Sapphire's lunging body./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" She stabbed at my torso, but I wrenched my body sideways to avoid her just in time. I slashed downward with my knife that felt smaller than usual, but Sapphire stepped backward, causing my attack to miss and throw me off balance. In this moment of confusion, the Career swung at my head. By sheer reflex, my neck jerked to the right, saving my head from certain doom. Instead of slicing through my cranium, Sapphires sickle clipped my left shoulder. I collapsed to the cold ground, shaking from the throbbing pain in my shoulder. My hand instinctively covered the wound and came back layered in fresh blood. I rolled away from Sapphire, wincing from pain. I got to my feet and lifted my weapon weakly. Sapphire grinned at me and mocked, "You're not even worth an 8."/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Forcing myself to ignore my bloodied shoulder, I glared at Sapphire and lunged forward. My jab wasn't quick enough however, as she managed to deflect my knife with a backhanded blow from her sickle. Sapphire counterattacked with a downward slash toward my exposed back. I shrieked with pain as her blade scraped through my flesh. I crumpled to the ground. My head was throbbing and my entire back seemed to be on fire. Blood coated my back and my chest from both of my wounds and the searing pain never ceased. I looked around quickly, hoping Carter would somehow come to the rescue. But he and Iron were nowhere to be seen. I returned my attention to Sapphire as she slowly approached, raising her bloody sickle over my crippled body. It seemed in that moment that all was lost. I was injured in two places quite severely, I could hardly move, and Sapphire had the upper hand. But just as the Career began the downward swing of her sickle, my rage reached its maximum and I thought about Liz and Harry. I gritted my teeth and, despite all the pain, rolled out of the way. Sapphire's blade struck the cement with a ring and I forced myself to my feet./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" "This...isn't...over," I groaned, brandishing my knife. "Or is it?" Sapphire challenged, lifting her sickle off the ground. I bellowed loudly, trying to drown out my excruciating pain, and charged Sapphire. I seemed to catch her off guard as she hesitated while I approached. Then, she swept her sickle down at my shins. It was a smart move, but very predictable. I gathered my remaining strength and jumped toward Sapphire, scaling her attack. Her eyes widened as I crashed down on top of her. My sudden collision with her, knocked Sapphire's weapon from her grasp. I quickly pinned her down. I struggled to maintain the hold; she was strong. Sapphire screamed and spat at me as she wriggled under my weight. My shoulder and back burned worse than I could ever have imagined as I strained my muscles to keep Sapphire underneath my hold. Finally, I managed to lift my knife, restraining Sapphire's movements with my left arm. Every time she moved my left shoulder throbbed. At last held my weapon above the Career's chest, preparing to take her life. I shivered and almost lost my nerve. "You can't do it. You're weak," Sapphire scoffed, veins bulging on her face from exertion. With a cry of pain, I brought Iron's knife down three times into Sapphire's chest./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Only once I heard the cannon blast did I release Sapphire and roll onto my bleeding back. I huffed and puffed, catching my breath and enduring the torment of my wounds. Sapphire had left me with a deep gash on my shoulder and a shallow scrape across my back from my right shoulder to half way down my spine. I dragged myself to Carter's locker and flung open the door. Shifting through the contents, I located the small first aid kit within. Silently, I prayed that I had learned enough to treat my wounds. It took over an hour to clean my shoulder and then bandage it tightly. I quickly realized how difficult treating my back would be. I would have easily stitched the shallow cut closed but I couldn't access most of the parts of my back, so I was forced to simply wrap a thick bandage around my entire torso from my navel up to my shoulders./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" After the bleeding had stopped, I sat up with a grunt. Sapphire's body was gone, and I saw no sign of Carter or Iron. During my fight with Sapphire, I had failed to hear any cannon blasts so I had no idea how Carter had fared against Iron. Our battle with the Careers had happened right at the crack of dawn and so now I found myself sitting in my own blood in a locker room at mid morning. Once I had gathered my strength, I hauled myself off the ground and walked over to another pool of blood that I knew to be Sapphire's. I turned to the left and picked up her sickle. It had a six inch handle, a long curved blade that came to a sharp point, and it was light-weight and easy to carry so I stuck it into a belt loop. Now I had a more proper weapon. I felt bad taking from Carter's stash but it would have been foolish to stay in that room where Iron would be sure to return for his partner. So I grabbed one of Carter's stolen backpacks, made sure I had food and water, packaged the first aid kit, and began to trek out into the amusement park. Every step brought a twang of discomfort from my back. The backpack, although it wasn't too heavy, rubbed against my left shoulder and brought severe pain to my wound. Finally I reached the Ferris Wheel and climbed up the infrastructure. It took several hours to reach my destination due to my injured state, but I eventually did reach the top car./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Dropping down into the safety of the car, I winced from the continued pain. I pulled a few crackers from my backpack and washed them down with some water. The sun was finally setting as I heard another cannon blast. I hoped it wasn't Carter. There were still too many Careers for me to face alone. I needed to maintain an ally, but I doubted Carter was alive, let alone uninjured. At last, night fell and the anthem began to play. The first face I saw that night was Sapphire. I turned away in discomfort at seeing her face. I had refused to acknowledge the fact that I had committed murder up until that point and didn't plan on letting myself feel guilty. Then, I nearly had a heart attack as Iron's serious appearance filled the night sky. "No way," I muttered. Either Carter had killed him or someone else took him out, but all that mattered was that Carter was still alive. I resisted the urge to jump up and search the amusement park for my ally. Not only would I jeopardize my life by walking out blindly in the night, but I was still badly hurt and was in no condition to fight at the moment. I reached into my pocket and retrieved my knife. Until then I had thought of it as Iron's since I had taken it from him at the bloodbath, but now that it had helped me take Sapphire down, the knife was truly mine. Using as little water as possible, I cleaned the dried blood off of both my knife and Sapphire's sickle. I cringed as I realized the blood I was cleaning off the sickle was actually mine. After that, I fell into a fitful sleep./div 


	9. Chapter 9: New Loot

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" "Attention tributes! Tonight at dusk, there shall be a feast at the Cornucopia. Please do attend," a voice boomed through the Arena. I stirred from my rest and looked around. It was nearly noon but the amusement park still looked to be deserted. I started to sit up but my back seared with pain. I felt my scabs cracking as I managed to get on my feet. Swaying, I gulped down some water. In my state, going to the feast wouldn't necessarily be the smartest thing. However, if I stayed in one place for too long the Gamemakers would be bound to flush me out. I decided I would rather take my chances at the feast than against whatever cruel concoction the Gamemakers would create. At that thought, I began my slow descent of the Ferris Wheel. A few hours later, I made it to the ground. It took a bit over an hour to reach the sky bridge. Crouching behind a rusty booth, I looked out at the plain and saw a figure in the distance limping toward the bridge./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" From where I sat the figure could have been Carter for all I knew but it could just as well have been Woody or even Marlin. The limping figure neared the bridge and I strained my eyes to get a good look. Then, somewhere to my right an arrow fired. It nearly struck the figure on the other side of the bridge but he ducked just in time. I heard a war cry as Vengeance leapt from behind a trash can about 40 feet to my right. She raced across the sky bridge as the figure on the other side hurried back the way he had come. I released a sigh as I confirmed no one had seen me. Off in the prairie I watched as Vengeance slowly overtook the other tribute, who finally whipped around and pulled out a large battle axe. My heart sank./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" The axe was clearly Aqua's. Which meant the figure who was now exchanging blows with Vengeance was none other than my ally Carter. I owed my life in the game to Carter just as he owed his to me. We had helped each other out and I wanted nothing more than to run out and help him. But I couldn't. I was frozen. If I exposed myself in my injured state, I would have a good chance of being killed. I hoped Carter could at least get away from the Career as I watched the battle continue. Carter was constantly on the offensive, hacking and jabbing with the big axe as Vengeance parried and dodged, wielding a thick metal spear. He was surely getting tired. I watched Vengeance slash across his thigh with her spear. Carter released a strained howl as he stumbled into folds of tall grass. His body was hidden from my view, but I could see Vengeance as she raised her spear and brought it down into Carter's chest. I counted 3 seconds before my friend's cannon shot sounded. I sighed a curse as I held back tears./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Although I hadn't considered it while we were together, I truly did consider Carter a friend. I showed him kindness and received much in return. Losing him dropped my odds of winning the Games drastically. Despite the demoralization of Carter's death, I still had plenty of motivation in the form of Liz and my family. I picked myself up and began my long jog through the prairie. I had to keep a brisk pace in order to reach the Cornucopia by dusk. Thinking about the place gave me goosebumps. There was only one thing I associated with the Cornucopia: death. The sickle on my belt swung slightly, and my backpack continued to rub against my wounded shoulder, obnoxiously. I made sure to avoid every wooden post I encountered. The underground catacombs were nearly as frightening to me as the Cornucopia. In a way, I wished the feast was down there. At least I would be able to run to my traps. At last, just twenty minutes before the sun set, I reached the outskirts of the Cornucopia. I found a wooden post about 100 feet away and lowered myself a few steps down into the tunnels, so that I would be hidden from other tributes./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I counted two tributes hanging around the interior of the Cornucopia. I wouldn't have been able to identify them if not for Supreme's bright red hair that shone like a beacon in the fading sunlight. Supreme and Vengeance were horribly intimidating but I still wanted to take Vengeance down pretty bad, considering what she did to Carter. The sun was more than halfway set when I heard a little tapping noise beneath me. It sounded like footsteps so I quickly drew Sapphire's sickle and crouched on my step, staring down into the dark abyss below. The tapping noise persisted until it got loud enough to be right below me. I gripped the sickle tighter and prepared for a fight. The sun was a mere two minutes from being completely set. Then, a head bobbed into view far beneath me, ascending the steps at a fast pace./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I squinted and then realized that the tribute beneath me was Woody, from District 7. He looked up at me with a determined expression, and yelled, "Run kid!" I didn't have to be warned twice. I turned and leaped up the top few steps until I reached the top and then took off into the prairie. I made sure not to get too close to the Cornucopia, skirting around it with about a 75 foot buffer. No doubt Supreme and Vengeance could see Woody, who was only five steps behind me, and myself. I glanced over my shoulder and shouted, "What is happening?" Woody shook his head violently and screamed, "You'll see!" At that, Woody altered his course, heading straight for the Cornucopia. My mouth dropped as I watched him. "Idiot," I murmured between breaths. Then, I looked back again and saw that Woody was being pursued by Marlin. "That's odd. Carter said those two were friends," I whispered to myself. Supreme and Vengeance trotted away from the Cornucopia, attempting to intercept Woody and Marlin. Realizing I was far enough away to be forgotten, I slowed down and approached the Cornucopia from the left side, out of the Careers' line of sight. Just then, as I had hoped, the feast began and a table shot upward inside the Cornucopia. On it sat 5 drawstring bags. Each was labeled with a number representing the remaining districts. The labels were; 2, 4, 6, 7, and 11. I ran toward the table, ignoring both the searing pain in my back and the ringing sound of metal hitting metal./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" I was the first tribute to hit the feast, swiping the bag labeled "6", and then I took off toward the nearest wooden post, which was about 80 feet away. Sparing a few backward glances, I saw Marlin swinging at Supreme furiously with his small mace. Supreme seemed to parry with ease, occasionally swiping at his opponent with his sword. Woody's face was bloodied from a slash from Vengeance's spear, but he had just landed a hit on her side with his short sword. She stumbled to the ground and I silently whooped. But just as Woody prepared to finish her off, Supreme's sword sprouted from his chest. I heard Marlin scream in anguish and then pursue Supreme furiously. Woody's cannon fired and I refocused on making it to my destination. I scaled the descending stairway faster than I ever had, until I reached the tunnel system below. This area of the catacombs was unfamiliar to me, but I began to take paths that lead deeper into the prairie. I hoped to encounter a tunnel I recognized and thus locate my poisonous nets for protection. Not two minutes after entering the underground network, another cannon blast occurred. I ran even faster./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" It took me two hours to realize I would most likely never find my original base again. The catacombs were too far spread and complex. After more searching, I settled on another room much like mine that had two indents in the wall and one entrance. At least it was easier to defend. I set down my things and finally got to open the District 6 bag. Inside, much to my surprise, was an oval shaped, light-weight, metal shield with a leather grip. I hefted it, noting how easy to maneuver and light it truly was, and then slipped my right arm through the strap to allow the shield a place to rest on my back. The other items in my bag were another pack of jerky, another water bottle, and some kind of healing solution that I rubbed on my wounds. It took the pain away sharply and I released a sigh of relief. The note inside said that my wounds should heal within 24 hours. I grinned and then ate dinner./div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" /div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Finally, the anthem began to echo throughout the catacombs. Then, Woody's face appeared. I frowned. Since the screen generally went in order by District, that would mean that none of the three remaining Careers had died. I swore silently and then returned my attention to the screen, where Carter's face now shone. I closed my eyes and apologized to my friend for not helping him against Vengeance. The last face to appear that night was Shannon's, from District 11. That unsettled me, because I was then the last tribute left that was not a Career. I shivered at the thought of being in the final four with three vicious Careers. Marlin hated Supreme and Vengeance so it was still a possibility he would want to help me. But then my thoughts returned all the way back to my chocolate fiasco during the Tribute Parade. I doubted Marlin would forgive me for that scheme. That meant I was all alone. Suppressing my grief, I laid down on the cold stone of the catacombs and drifted off into slumber./div 


	10. Chapter 10: Brought Together

div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;" Sleeping span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"was a mistake. I awoke to screaming voices bouncing off the walls. The only words I caught were, "get away," and, "spider." The last one made me nervous. I didn't enjoy the thought of being stuck underground with any kind of spider. I slowly sat up, pleased at how little pain I felt from my injuries, and began walking down a path I hoped would lead me above ground. As the screams seemed to fade as I put distance between me and that room, I felt safer. I could barely even notice the weight of the metal shield slung next to my backpack behind me. With Sapphire's sickle, my knife, and my shield, I was well armed. Then, using the light of my match, I saw a flicker of movement farther down the tunnel. I slowed to a light jog. As I neared, my fears were confirmed. Rushing toward me was a thick line of little black spiders./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" I turned on my heels and sprinted back the way I came. There had to be more than 10,000 little spiders on my tail at that point. I also doubted that the Gamemakers had added spiders that weren't lethal, which only increased my worries. As effective as the medicine on my back and shoulder was, I still felt tremendous pain whilst running down those tunnels. I hardly cared which path I took at each crossroads, as long as I kept putting distance between the spiders and I. Finally, I spotted a ray of pale sunlight up ahead. Charging forward, I prepared to scale the staircase as fast as humanly possible while carrying a full backpack and two weapons. As I neared the stairway, another tunnel on the right fed into the one I was following. About 10 steps ahead of me, a tribute burst from the tunnel on the right. He nearly ran into the wall ahead of him, but he pushed off in time to continue his race toward the stairs./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" I tried to stay as quiet as possible as the tribute who I identified as Marlin began to leap upward, three steps at a time. I followed in suit, the wave of spiders a mere six steps behind. Marlin threw himself up, into the prairie. A few moments later I followed, both of us laying in the grass, panting. Luckily, the spiders didn't leave the stairway. They then retreated back into the darkness below. Warily, I stood and placed my hand on the hilt of Sapphire's sickle. Marlin slowly got to his feet, and turned to face me. "I...have...a...proposition for you," he gasped, eyeing me with concern. "I thought...you wanted nothing...to do with me," I responded through heavy breaths. Marlin shook his head and straightened his back, looking me in the eye. The District 4 Career looked like a fisherman to me. His figure was slender and lean, he was a little taller than Carter, and his skin was sun ravaged. Marlin's hair was a short, light blonde fuzz that glazed over his head. He scowled, caught his breath, and explained, "Our only shot at taking down Supreme and Vengeance is if we work together." I frowned deeply and retorted, "You and I aren't exactly the most compatible pair." Marlin shrugged and said, to my astonishment, "I'm willing to leave all that in the past if you are." I hid the shock from my expression and answered, "Fine. Let's take them out." Then I extended my hand, watching Marlin carefully. He nodded, beamed, and then shook my hand firmly. I smiled back and raised my bandaged left shoulder. "I'm actually still dealing with a few injuries. They're almost fully healed though," I told him. He smirked and asked, "Who?"/span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" At that, I launched into a description of my alliance with Carter, our battle with Iron and Sapphire, along with my injuries, and then what had happened since. Once I had finished, Marlin explained, "You're friend, Carter, we helped him against Iron. That is, Woody and I. It was actually Woody who killed Iron in the end. Carter had a busted leg we helped repair, but he insisted to go find you before it healed." I smiled gravely. Carter really had been coming back for me. "I watched Vengeance kill him," I croaked. Marlin hesitated, then said, "Then I'll let you take Vengeance when we find those scumbags." I nodded and we both turned in the direction of the Cornucopia. "There's only one way to summon the Careers," Marlin muttered, beginning to walk toward the Cornucopia. I bit my lip and followed./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" As we walked, Marlin and I exchanged a few strained words, but otherwise remained silent. There was a heavy tension in the air. We both knew that we were entering the final battle. "If we can surprise them, that would be best," Marlin advised. I nodded in agreement and added, "We could try to approach the Cornucopia from the back." Marlin liked the idea and so we formed our strategy. As the metal structure got larger and larger on the horizon, I decided to offer a sincere apology to Marlin. "I only did the chocolate thing for the audience you know," I explained slowly, "It was never personal." Marlin simply shrugged me off and replied, "I know. Let's not dwell on the past." I couldn't tell whether he had forgiven me, but I tossed those thoughts aside as we neared the back of the Cornucopia. Marlin and I sat, crouched, behind the large metal structure. We still hadn't seen either of the Careers. "Stay alert," Marlin warned. I nodded and checked behind us. No one was in sight. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a loud crack sounded and my attention was directed to the trees of the jungle off in the distance. I had never personally been in that jungle, but I knew that it wasn't normal for trees to fall simultaneously. Several large trees crashed downward as the whole jungle erupted into a chorus of snapping branches and cracking trunks. Just when it seemed like the whole jungle was going to collapse, two running shadows appeared from the tree line. They were running in our direction./span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" /span/div  
div style="color: #454545; font-family: UICTFontTextStyleBody; font-size: 17px; text-decoration: -webkit-letterpress;"span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);" "The Gamemakers flushed them out," Marlin muttered. "So this is going to be it," I answered, swallowing hard. He nodded and gripped his mace. I slowly pulled out Sapphire's sickle and mentally prepped for a fight. Then, a soft beeping was heard. I turned to Marlin as he received a gift from his sponsors. The silver parachute lead the package right into his outstretched palm. Marlin tore open the package and pulled out a small metal sphere. "It's a smoke bomb," he said with a smirk. I smiled back. "We are gonna take them out," I replied with confidence. Then, I looked past the Cornucopia and saw Supreme's flame-like hair flying in the wind as he and Vengeance rapidly approached. They couldn't see us from where we sat in hiding, but the battle was imminent and I hefted my shield. The Careers finally reached the outskirts of the Cornucopia, where they began to deliberate fiercely. For a moment it seemed as though they were about to fight one another but then they calmed and entered the Cornucopia. "They're right where we want them," Marlin chirped. I nodded and motioned for Marlin to follow me as we crept around the side of the Cornucopia. Slowly, we reached the right side of the mouth of the Cornucopia. "Ready?" Marlin whispered. "As I'll ever be," I replied weakly. With that, the both of us rushed out into the open./span/div 


	11. Chapter 11: The Crashing Conclusion

Facing the inside of the Cornucopia, Marlin yelled, "Come face me you cowards!" Supreme turned as Vengeance pulled out her metal spear. He smiled wickedly at us and barked, "I'm waiting." Marlin turned to me and I muttered, "It's gotta be a trap." He cocked his head and answered, "Maybe..." Marlin faced the Careers once more and bellowed, "Come and meet us in battle." Supreme chuckled and gestured to the inside of the Cornucopia. "Whenever you're ready," he responded with a smug grin. Marlin frowned and his eyes narrowed. "Don't you try to trick me you slippery fool!" Marlin challenged. Supreme raised his hands defensively and said, "No tricks. Only a fair fight." I placed a hand on Marlin's shoulder. "He's lying. If they're not going to face us out in the open, then we should flush them out," I suggested quietly. Marlin frowned deeper. "How?" he asked. I shrugged. "I don't want to waste the smoke bomb but it might be the only solution," I replied. Marlin put his hands on his hips and shouted to the Careers, "Why then, if there are no tricks or traps, do you refuse to face us out here?" Supreme shifted uncomfortably and consulted with Vengeance. This time it was she who answered, "Fine. We will join you outside."

Carefully, the Careers stepped forward. However, when they got to a certain point, they leaped forward as if scaling a large gap. Alarmed, Marlin and I drew our weapons and took up defensive stances. Supreme and Vengeance landed gracefully from their leap and looked us both in the eye. "You're the runt who killed Sapphire and Aqua aren't you?" Vengeance growled at me. I smirked and replied, "That would be me, Your Highness." She grinned at me and spat, "Then I will enjoy your death." Then, both Supreme and Vengeance charged us.

I deflected Vengeance's first jab with the front of my shield. The way her spear harmlessly slid away from me was pleasing. I swung Sapphire's sickle at her knees hoping to connect early on. I heard Supreme and Marlin clash violently. At the last possible second, Vengeance struck my blade with the bottom of her spear, parrying my blow. Anticipating a counter strike, I raised my shield. Vengeance leaped upward, raising her spear over her head, attempting a downward stab at my skull. I jerked my shield up, managing to halt her strike. Vengeance landed awkwardly against my shield and I shoved her back. The Career stumbled backward and nearly lost her balance. As she recovered shakily, I lunged forward in a stab at Vengeance's midsection. She hopped to the right, avoiding my blow, then swung the shaft of her spear at my side. It connected and forced me to the ground. I felt my torso become bruised from the blunt impact, but quickly scrambled to my feet. Vengeance smirked at me and began to step away from me. "You're scared of me, eh?" I scoffed. She smiled even wider, which made me nervous. I brought my shield up, expecting a different attack. Once she was 10 paces away, Vengeance reared back and flung her spear in a perfect spiral toward my face. I barely had enough time to jerk my shield in front of my head. I felt the surprisingly forceful push of the spear against my metal shield as the disk was wrenched from my grasp. It took me a moment to realize that Vengeance was diving for my shield, but once I saw her action, I jabbed with Sapphire's sickle. The blade stuck in Vengeance's right calf. She wailed and sprawled on the ground. She groped forward just enough to grab my shield, which she pulled to her body and threw over her head. I brought back my weapon and swung downward and struck the shield as hard as I could. Vengeance nearly lost her grip from the force of my blow, and I could tell her wound was taking its toll on her stamina. Realizing how immobile her right leg was, I stepped forward, grabbed the top of the shield she held, and began to pull on it. Vengeance shrieked as she struggled to maintain a hold on her only weapon. I placed my foot on her torso for more leverage and heaved backward. It was enough force to free the shield from Vengeance's grasp, and enough to send me tumbling back. I regained my footing and watched my foe crawl toward her spear, two feet away from her hand. I lunged forward, releasing a war cry, and slashed at Vengeance's arm. My sickle managed to slice through her bicep, leaving her arm bloody and mangled. She screamed again and halted her desperate crawl. I frowned at her as she gave up and was still. I swallowed the vomit in my throat and finished the job with a stab to the heart. A cannon sounded. I separated myself from Vengeance's corpse and turned to the other battle that still raged nearby.

Supreme was on the run. He was bolting for the mouth of the Cornucopia. Marlin followed, swinging his mace above his head and hollering. My ally's left arm was slick with blood but he didn't seem horribly wounded. Supreme seemed to be untouched, although his gait had a hitch in it. Both still held their weapons as they charged at the Cornucopia. I chased after them, several feet behind Marlin. I expected Supreme to leap over the same imaginary gap he had before, but instead, he stopped running just before the entrance of the Cornucopia. Supreme turned to face Marlin, cackling maniacally. Marlin halted a few feet from Supreme and I soon joined him. "What's going on?" I huffed. Marlin shook his head and pulled his smoke bomb from his pocket. "I'm ending this!" he yelled. Then, Marlin brought his arm back and threw the smoke bomb directly at Supreme's feet. A huge cloud of black smog erupted and my vision was drastically reduced. Marlin charged forward into the darkness that now surrounded us and I heard him crash into Supreme. Relying on my ears alone, I tried to discern what was happening. Something slid across the grass. A blanket or tarp maybe. Then I heard Supreme bellow and fall. There was a shuffle of feet and then a strained groan. This continued for a moment until I heard Supreme shout, "You're coming with me!" Marlin answered, "You're wrong!" Then, I heard a rough push and a series of strangled shouts from Supreme that seemed to get quieter and quieter. It was as if his voice was fading with distance. Had he fallen? Or run away?

The smoke took a few minutes to clear, during which I heard a loud thud, a cannon blast, and several moans from Marlin. I sighed when I heard his voice. Supreme must have died. Finally, when I could see again, I inched forward. Before me lay a huge chasm. It had clearly been dug by shovel. It had definitely taken a while to create. I saw no sign of either Marlin or Supreme. Then I heard another frantic groan from Marlin. "Chase! Chase, help! Down here!" he shrieked. I rushed forward and peered down into the abyss. At the bottom, which looked to be at least 70 feet below, was a crumpled corpse I recognized as Supreme. I winced at the sight of his mutilated body. Next to him was a large blanket that was designed to look like the prairie above. That was how they had camouflaged the trap. Then, I looked up and realized the Marlin was hanging from the edge beneath my feet. "Can you lift me?" he pleaded. He was hanging on by two hands, and his mace had fallen down with Supreme. He looked up at me with pained eyes and said, "Grab my hand and pull me up." I may not have been a Career or even the smartest strategist, but the position I was in was ideal. Only Marlin and I were still alive and only one of us would live through the Games. As much as Marlin begged, there was only one path I could take. I reached into my pocket and grasped Liz's bracelet. "For them," I muttered to myself. "What?" Marlin mumbled. I looked down at him and realized he was crying. Tears streamed down his cheeks. "I'm sorry Marlin," I choked as I lifted my sickle. Marlin's eyes widened in understanding and he began to frantically try to lift himself up. His grip was loose and he was far from strong enough to bring the weight of his body up and over the edge of the pit. He struggled for a minute or two until I had finally worked up the nerve to finish him. I croaked, "I have to get home." Then, I swung my sickle and lopped off Marlin's left hand. He howled with pain, pulling his arm back to his body. The loss of strength caused his right hand to fail him. As he dropped from the edge and plummeted into the chasm, I closed my eyes and imagined my family. I would never have done anything so horrible or inhumane if it weren't for them. I would never have killed anyone, I would never have made it through the Hunger Games.

I turned away from the pit and opened my eyes. A cannon shot rang out. I smiled and let the tears flow down my face. I dropped to my knees and wept. "May I present the winner of the 47th Annual Hunger Games, Chase Wheeler of District 6!" I was home.


End file.
